SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — A veteran police officer who suffered a serious head injury after he was hit with a skateboard Thanksgiving afternoon was showing “positive signs of recovery” over the weekend, according to South San Francisco police.

Officer Robby Chon, 49, remains in critical condition at a San Francisco hospital, but doctors are “cautiously optimistic regarding his progress,” police said in a news release Monday.

Officer Robby Chon (Photo/South San Francisco Police)

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Chon, who has served with South San Francisco police for 12 years, was on motorcycle patrol Thursday afternoon in the 300 block of Grand Avenue when he was waved down by someone reporting that a man was causing a disturbance at a nearby business. Witnesses said the man appeared addled and was trying to urinate on the sidewalk.

The man was immediately confrontational, police said, and Chon called for backup. But before a second officer could arrive, the man took off on a skateboard, and Chon chased after him.

A short time later, the fleeing man stopped, turned around, and swung at Chon with the skateboard, hitting the officer in the head and knocking him unconscious, police said.

The man was arrested soon after by the backup officer, and has been identified as Luis Alberto Ramos-Coreas, a 28-year-old South San Francisco resident with an extensive arrest history in the city. He was booked into the San Mateo County jail on suspicion of several felonies, including attempted murder of a police officer.

In the Monday news release, police expressed gratitude for an outpouring of support from the community and area law-enforcement agencies, which includes a GoFundMe page to support Chon and his family.

“We ask that you continue to keep Officer Chon in your thoughts and prayers as he continues his fight to recover from this tragedy,” police said.

Anyone with information about the case can contact South San Francisco police at 650-877-8900 or leave an anonymous tip at 650-952-2244.